Christopher J. Pursell

The critical role of water at the gold-titania interface in catalytic CO oxidation

Easier oxidation over gold with added water Gold adsorbed on metal oxides is an excellent catalyst for the room-temperature oxidation of CO to CO2. However, there has been continuing disagreement between different studies on the key aspects of this catalyst. Saveeda et al. now show through kinetics and infrared spectroscopy that the presence of water can lower the reaction activation barrier by enabling OOH groups to form from adsorbed oxygen (see the Perspective by Mullen and Mullins). The OOH then reacts readily with CO. It thus seems that the main role of oxide support and its interface with the metal is in activating water, but that the steps of the reaction that involve CO occur on gold. Science, this issue p. 1599; see also p. 1564 Adsorbed water enables proton-transfer steps that lower the activation barrier for carbon monoxide oxidation. [Also see Perspective by Mullen and Mullins] We provide direct evidence of a water-mediated reaction mechanism for room-temperature CO oxidation over Au/TiO2 catalysts. A hydrogen/deuterium kinetic isotope effect of nearly 2 implicates O-H(D) bond breaking in the rate-determining step. Kinetics and in situ infrared spectroscopy experiments showed that the coverage of weakly adsorbed water on TiO2 largely determines catalyst activity by changing the number of active sites. Density functional theory calculations indicated that proton transfer at the metal-support interface facilitates O2 binding and activation; the resulting Au-OOH species readily reacts with adsorbed Au-CO, yielding Au-COOH. Au-COOH decomposition involves proton transfer to water and was suggested to be rate determining. These results provide a unified explanation to disparate literature results, clearly defining the mechanistic roles of water, support OH groups, and the metal-support interface.

Kinetic Evaluation of Highly Active Supported Gold Catalysts Prepared from Monolayer-Protected Clusters: An Experimental Michaelis-Menten Approach for Determining the Oxygen Binding Constant during CO Oxidation Catalysis

Thiol monolayer-protected Au clusters (MPCs) were prepared using dendrimer templates, deposited onto a high-surface-area titania, and then the thiol stabilizers were removed under H2/N2. The resulting Au catalysts were characterized with transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed CO. The Au catalysts prepared via this route displayed minimal particle agglomeration during the deposition and activation steps. Structural data obtained from the physical characterization of the Au catalysts were comparable to features exhibited from a traditionally prepared standard Au catalyst obtained from the World Gold Council (WGC). A differential kinetic study of CO oxidation catalysis by the MPC-prepared Au and the standard WGC catalyst showed that these two catalyst systems have essentially the same reaction order and Arrhenius apparent activation energies (28 kJ/mol). However, the MPC-prepared Au catalyst shows 50% greater activity for CO oxidation. Using a Michaelis-Menten approach, the oxygen binding constants for the two catalyst systems were determined and found to be essentially the same within experimental error. To our knowledge, this kinetic evaluation is the first experimental determination of oxygen binding by supported Au nanoparticle catalysts under working conditions. The values for the oxygen binding equilibrium constant obtained from the Michaelis-Menten treatment (ca. 29-39) are consistent with ultra-high-vacuum measurements on model catalyst systems and support density functional theory calculations for oxygen binding at corner or edge atoms on Au nanoparticles and clusters.

Infrared spectroscopy of the solid phases of ammonia

Thin films of solid ammonia (NH(3) and ND(3)) have been characterized using low temperature (25-110 K) Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and the three solid phase (amorphous, metastable, and crystalline) spectra are reported. This work has been motivated by confusion in the literature about the metastable and crystalline phases as a result of an early erroneous report by Staats and Morgan [(J. Chem. Phys. 31, 553 (1959)]. Although the crystalline phase has subsequently been reported correctly, the metastable phase has not been described in the literature in detail. The unique characteristics of the metastable phase, reported here for the first time, include multiple peaks in the nu(2) and nu(3) regions and peak intensities that are dependent on the deposition temperature. This behavior may be the result of (a) preferential molecular orientations in the solid, or (b) exciton splitting due to different crystal shapes in the solid. The amorphous and metastable phases of deuterated ammonia are also reported for the first time.

Controlling activity and selectivity using water in the Au-catalysed preferential oxidation of CO in H2

Industrial hydrogen production through methane steam reforming exceeds 50 million tons annually and accounts for 2-5% of global energy consumption. The hydrogen product, even after processing by the water-gas shift, still typically contains ∼1% CO, which must be removed for many applications. Methanation (CO + 3H2 → CH4 + H2O) is an effective solution to this problem, but consumes 5-15% of the generated hydrogen. The preferential oxidation (PROX) of CO with O2 in hydrogen represents a more-efficient solution. Supported gold nanoparticles, with their high CO-oxidation activity and notoriously low hydrogenation activity, have long been examined as PROX catalysts, but have shown disappointingly low activity and selectivity. Here we show that, under the proper conditions, a commercial Au/Al2O3 catalyst can remove CO to below 10 ppm and still maintain an O2-to-CO2 selectivity of 80-90%. The key to maximizing the catalyst activity and selectivity is to carefully control the feed-flow rate and maintain one to two monolayers of water (a key CO-oxidation co-catalyst) on the catalyst surface.

Isotope exchange of D2O on H2O ice: Surface versus bulk reactivity

The nature of the surface of crystalline water ice is investigated by monitoring isotope exchange in the first few bilayers. Near-monolayer amounts of D2O are deposited on thin films of H2O ice and isotope exchange at 145 K is monitored with Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy as a function of time. No exchange occurs on the surface of pure ice, however, exchange is readily observed on the surface of ice doped with small amounts of hydrogen chloride (HCl). The lack of exchange at the surface of pure ice stands in contrast to similar experiments performed of D2O embedded in the bulk. This suggests a depletion of mobile defects on the surface of pure crystalline ice at 145 K. This relative depletion may cause a significant difference between reactivity on the ice surface and in the ice bulk for other systems.

Host–Guest Inclusion Complexation of α-Cyclodextrin and Triiodide Examined Using UV–Vis Spectrophotometry

The historically relevant host-guest complexation of α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) and triiodide (I3(-)) in aqueous solution was examined using a systematic UV-vis spectrophotometric approach. This particular system is experimentally challenging because of the coupled equilibria, namely, I2 + I(-) ⇌ I3(-) and α-CD + I3(-) ⇌ α-CD·I3(-). We therefore developed a unique experimental approach that allowed us to determine the concentration of all iodine species. This enabled us to unequivocally demonstrate that the large increase in the UV absorbance with added α-cyclodextrin is due to an increase in the overall triiodide concentration as α-CD essentially converts iodine to triiodide according to the coupled equilibria. Herein we report (a) the complexation stoichiometry is 1:1 (i.e., the host-guest complex is α-CD·I3(-)), (b) the binding constant is KH-G = (1.35 ± 0.05) × 10(5) M(-1) at room temperature, and

Onsager heat of transport for water vapour at the surface of water and ice: thermal accommodation coefficients for water vapour on a stainless-steel surface

The Onsager heat of transport Q* has been measured for water vapour at the surface of water, supercooled water, and ice, over the temperature range -8 to +10 degrees C. For liquid water, Q* is constant at -24.7 +/- 3.6 kJ mol(-1) (two standard deviations) over the pressure range 4-9.5 Torr. Provided the ice is suitably aged, the |Q*| values are very similar for water and ice, a result which is consistent with the presence of a liquid-like layer at the surface of ice. The values are slightly larger for ice, in proportion to the ratio of the heat of sublimation of ice to the heat of vaporization of the liquid. Departures from linearity of plots of P against DeltaT are attributed to temperature jumps at the surface of the dry upper plate. Hence jump coefficients and thermal accommodation coefficients have been derived as a function of temperature for collisions of water molecules with type-304 stainless steel.

CO Oxidation Kinetics over Au/TiO2 and Au/Al2O3 Catalysts: Evidence for a Common Water-Assisted Mechanism

The mechanism of CO oxidation over supported gold catalysts has long been debated, with two prevailing mechanisms dominating the discussion: a water-assisted mechanism and a mechanism involving O-defect sites. In this study, we directly address this debate through a kinetic and mechanistic investigation of the role of water in CO oxidation over Au/TiO2 and Au/Al2O3 catalysts; the results clearly indicate a common water-assisted mechanism to be at work. Water adsorption isotherms were determined with infrared spectroscopy; the extracted equilibrium constant was essentially the same for both catalysts. Added water decreases CO adsorption on Au/TiO2, likely by blocking CO binding sites at the metal-support interface. Reaction kinetics (CO, O2, and H2O reaction orders) were essentially the same for both catalysts, as were measured O-H(D) kinetic isotope effects. These data indicate that the two catalysts operate by essentially the same mechanism under the conditions of these experiments (ambient temperature, significant amounts of water available). A reaction mechanism incorporating the kinetic and thermodynamic data and accounting for different CO and O2/COOH binding sites is proposed. The mechanism and kinetic data are treated with an active site (Michaelis-Menten) approach. This indicated that water adsorption does not significantly affect reaction rate constants, only the number of active sites available at a given water pressure. Extracted water and O2 binding constants are similar on both catalysts and consistent with previous DFT calculations. Water adsorption constants are also similar to independently determined equilibrium constants measured by IR spectroscopy. The likely roles of water, surface carbonates, and oxygen vacancies at the metal-support interface are discussed. The results definitively show that, at least in the presence of added water, O vacancies cannot play an important role in the room-temperature catalysis, and that the water-assisted mechanism is far more consistent with the preponderance of the kinetic data.

MEASURING THE CHANGING COMPOSITION AND MASS OF EVAPORATING FUEL FILMS

When a fuel spray impinges on an interior surface of an engine, a thin liquid film can form. The relatively slow evaporation of the film has been shown to be a cause of increased pollutant emissions and reduced engine performance. To improve the understanding of how fuel films affect engine emissions and performance, a research program was initiated to study the physical processes involved in the evaporation of films composed of mixtures of hydrocarbons. The specific goal of the research reported here is to develop a method of simultaneously measuring the mass and composition of evaporating films. This method enables one to compute the evaporation rate of each component in the film. To our knowledge, these composition measurements are the first direct, time-resolved measurements of the changing composition of an evaporating liquid film composed of multiple volatile components. Mass and composition of evaporating liquid films were measured quantitatively using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR). Evaporation rates for pure solvents and mixtures were determined through a calibration of the FT-IR measurements and these results were validated by measurements acquired with an analytical balance. The FT-IR also measured compositional changes for bi-component mixtures during the evaporation process. Three of the hydrocarbon solvents studied were hexane, cyclohexane, and 3-methylpentane. These were chosen for their similarities in molecular weight and physical properties as well as their comparatively unique infrared absorption spectra. Isooctane was also used because of its prevalence as a gasoline substitute in many engine studies and because of its slow evaporation rate compared to the smaller hydrocarbons. Solvents were studied individually and in various mixtures. Based on these preliminary results the method developed here is expected to be an important tool for studying the transport processes in an evaporating film.Copyright

Evaluating differences in the active-site electronics of supported Au nanoparticle catalysts using Hammett and DFT studies

Supported metal catalysts, which are composed of metal nanoparticles dispersed on metal oxides or other high-surface-area materials, are ubiquitous in industrially catalysed reactions. Identifying and characterizing the catalytic active sites on these materials still remains a substantial challenge, even though it is required to guide rational design of practical heterogeneous catalysts. Metal-support interactions have an enormous impact on the chemistry of the catalytic active site and can determine the optimum support for a reaction; however, few direct probes of these interactions are available. Here we show how benzyl alcohol oxidation Hammett studies can be used to characterize differences in the catalytic activity of Au nanoparticles hosted on various metal-oxide supports. We combine reactivity analysis with density functional theory calculations to demonstrate that the slope of experimental Hammett plots is affected by electron donation from the underlying oxide support to the Au particles.